1. Lexy Kroeger
StrengthsQuest Paper
“Find your strengths and use them” is a quote many of us have probably heard. Most
people today have to figure their strengths out on their own. I feel very fortunate that I got the
opportunity to take a test and get my strengths determined for me. This world is made up of so
many diverse people so, it is practically a sin to waste away a unique talent you were blessed
with. Through this test, I discovered that I have the following strengths; positivity, woo,
empathy, communication, and achiever. I believe that positivity, empathy, and achiever describe
my life exactly. Although I still see woo and communication as some of my strengths, the
descriptions are not all accurate.
Positivity was my favorite strength. Each and every day I work hard at staying positive,
helping others see the good in every situation, maintain contagious energy and being the smile in
everyone's dreary days. I did not have any disagreements with this strength as well as I agreed
with the description for empathy. In the past, I have been credited for doing a great job of putting
myself in others shoes. I have heard that I am a great listener and even if I do not agree with
someone's decisions, that I am still always there for them. I can really see how these two
strengths are linked together. It takes a positive person to find the light in a dark situation. I am
very grateful for having both empathy and positivity because they have helped me handle my
friends hardships as well as my own.
The next strength that I see in myself is achiever, but after reading the description, I do
not think it all applies to me. The description made it seem like an achiever only focuses on the
achievement itself and never really takes the time to praise the hard work they have completed. It
also states that you find yourself dissatisfied often and you crave more things to accomplish. I do

2. not agree with any of those statements. I think that I love to stay busy, getting new tasks and
assignments, and checking things off my to-do list. But, when I do complete something, I am
willing to rest knowing that it was a job well done, instead of needing a new task to fulfill me.
My remaining two strengths, woo and communication, were also on the fence in my
opinion. I thought both hit the nail on the head when it talked about loving to meet new people,
making events energetic and vivid, and wanting people to listen to my stories or experiences. In a
broad sense, I believe that I love to talk, socialize and be consumed with people constantly.
Although these statements were true, I had a hard time agreeing with the others. For instance, I
disagree with the fact that once I meet someone I am ready to move onto the next person, I am
never at a loss for words, I enjoy examples, metaphors, and powerful word combinations, and
that I want all the attention on me. I actually see myself at having a small vocabulary and I also
get extremely nervous when giving formal speeches. Outside of those disagreements, I felt that
many of my strengths actually fit my lifestyle rather well.
An example of when all these strengths are seen in my life would be when I help my
friends with their problems, meeting new people in college, and working out. One of my
passions is helping my friends get through rough situations. They always tell me I am a great
listener and have great advice. Partially, I think the reason I am good at this is because of my
strengths positivity and empathy. These strengths allow me to stay positive and look on the
brighter side of things when my friends can not do it for themselves. It also helps me understand
the situation and see it in their point of view. Not only do my strengths help me with my friends
but, it also helps me meet friends in general. Coming to college having no previous friends that
are girls was hard to grasp but, with my strengths woo and communication I made the process a
little easier on myself. Woo helped me break the awkward, what do we talk about and who do I

3. talk to issues and communication helped me be more comfortable in these situations. Lastly, my
achiever strength helps me tremendously in the gym. Running is one of the things that helps me
relieve stress and is something I enjoy, but I am not necessarily the best at. My strength trait,
achiever, makes me push myself above and beyond. I am never satisfied and every day I strive to
run a little longer or a little faster. All five of my traits benefit me in my everyday life by
allowing me to feel confident and strong in many of these situations.
Although I feel strong in these moments because of my strengths, sometimes they can
also prohibit me. For example, it is hard for me to see the faults in others and I keep myself too
busy. Because I am positive and I can put myself in others shoes, it is hard for me to see the bad
in someone. Many times I make up excuses for the person's bad behavior or tell myself that they
will actually change. It is rather hard for me to grasp the fact that not everyone in this world is
honest, respectful and all that they portray themselves to be. Another trait that adds struggle to
my life is achiever. Although my achiever strength helps push me, it also leaves me busy and
stressed out. Often times it is conflicting because I hate not having things to do, but then when I
overbook myself, I get very stressed and anxious. For these reasons, achiever, positivity, and
empathy can also be seen as faults.
My strengths can not only be seen in my actions and thoughts, but also in my
relationships and academic life. Currently, my strengths of positivity and empathy play a huge
role in my romantic relationship in a positive way. Having a boyfriend is not always a walk in
the park, sometimes we bicker and get on each others nerves. But, the way couples react in these
situations is what makes or breaks them. Since I am very positive and have the trait empathy, it is
easy for me to understand where my boyfriend is coming from. It also allows me to see the good
in his actions instead of only the bad. Fighting is a minimal occurrence in our relationship, and

4. when it does happen, we both are eager to hear each other out and fix the issue immediately. The
one drawback about my social strengths, woo and communication, in my romantic relationship is
the issue of jealousy. In high school, mostly, we both became jealous easily. This was a huge
issue for me because I loved to talk to people, starting conversations, and being friendly. Many
times these interactions were perceived as flirtatious when that was never my intent.
Another strength that hindered a relationship was achiever. My ex-friend and I were
involved in a lot of the same things. We both played softball, worked at the same daycare, had
the same best friend and both had boyfriends. Many times I found myself competing with her
and trying to be better than her in some way. This began to wear me down. I started to resent her
and our friendship till it one day drove us apart completely. This is a prime example that proves
some of my strengths can also lead to a downfall.
As for academically, all my strengths help me in a positive way. My academic
performance is always above average because the achiever in me will not let it be otherwise.
Every time I receive a bad grade I get a sinking feeling in my gut and a desire to exceed all
expectations the next time. My woo and communication strengths help me work in group
settings as well as with meeting new professors and classmates. Being able to carry a
conversation with a stranger will help me to have connections in the future. Also, my positivity
and empathy traits help me in college and will help me in my professional career. My goal is to
graduate with a major in Elementary Education. Working with children is never easy and being
able to stay positive in the rough patches is extremely important. It also helps to understand
where the children are coming from and to be able to see what they are going through outside of
their academic lives. My empathy strength will help me tremendously in this category.

5. All of my strengths define me as a person. Without them I would not be the person I am
today, and for that I am very grateful. My strengths have allowed me to overcome challenges.
They also put me at ease in many situations that others would dred. Positivity, empathy,
communication, woo and achiever are all words that define and make up who I am.